6th Annual Claire’s Campaign

Give a family the gift of opportunity this May

You have the power to change the path of a family experiencing homelessness by giving a gift to Claire’s Campaign.

Claire’s Campaign is Inn from the Cold’s annual matching campaign that runs throughout the month of May. Gary Nissen, long-time supporter of Inn from the Cold, will match donations up to $250,000. Karen Zutter, Gary’s sister, will match donations on an additional $100,000; and the Hutchison Family will match donations on an additional $50,000.

This year’s goal for Claire’s Campaign is $800,000. We are asking Calgarians for their support in achieving this goal.

Funds raised through Claire’s Campaign will support our Family Support Program funding critical programming and operational needs in ourEmergency Family Shelterand Housing.

Eva Fox, Family Support Worker, Inn from the Cold

Family homelessness in Calgary

Children and their families are the fastest growing demographic impacted by homelessness and typically spend twice as long in shelters than singles. In 2017, 57% of our guests were single mothers, with an overwhelming prevalence of children at 60%. According to theCalgary Homeless Foundation, there are approximately 200 homeless families in Calgary and in 2017, we had 33,560 bed stays in our Emergency Family Shelter.

The City of Calgary’s recent report on Housing Supply in Calgaryunderscores the need for an increase in the supply of affordable housing, with numbers in Calgary being only 3.6% as compared to the national average of 6%. Homeless families have unique needs which include larger units of 2 or more bedrooms, access to community resources and transportation and customized programming to meet their specific needs.